Cynthia Dill, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, has responded to an invitation by the leading candidate, independent Angus King, to join in opposing the expected huge flow of out-of-state money into their campaign.
Dill originally said King’s June 13 proposal “lacks any detail or substance,” but she expressed interest in exploring it more. Republican candidate Charlie Summers has rejected it as “just another effort to distract Maine voters from the real issue in the campaign: the economy.”
It’s understandable that Dill first reacted cynically and Summers said no. Though King likely stands to lose the most money, he also stands to benefit from the positive publicity. Putting King’s motives aside, though, the former governor opened a question that may be even more important than who gets to replace retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.
If the Maine race joins the one in Massachusetts in rejecting super-PAC money, it would send a strong message to Congress that the very people supposedly benefiting from anonymous money don’t want it. Candidates in more states may follow suit.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision on campaign contributions has opened the floodgates to “independent” campaign spending by corporations, unions and other organizations through super PACs that are unlimited in amount and often unknowable in origin.
The high court has held that money is a form of speech and that corporations have the same First Amendment right of free speech as individuals. But the anonymous donations restrict the public’s ability to track which special interests are influencing which campaigns and candidates.
The court’s decision will stand until Congress agrees on a way to return the power to regulate the raising and spending of campaign funds and make government accountable to (human) voters instead of corporate and union donors.
State Sen. Dill wrote to King on Thursday: “I look forward to working with you on negotiating an agreement that will protect the democratic process, and not price working Maine people out of the election.”
If King and Dill can reach an agreement, they might pressure Summers into joining them. That would follow the public’s desire to restrain potentially unlimited super-PAC spending.
A statewide poll in May by Critical Insights in Portland found 78 percent agreeing that “there is too much money in politics and wealthy donors are overwhelming elections, drowning out the voices of ordinary citizens.” Just 15 percent agreed with this: “Campaign finance reform has failed to live up to its promise. We should roll back restrictions on the flow of money and just let donors give as much money as they want to whomever they want.” Eight percent said they didn’t know.
In Massachusetts, incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren have pledged to discourage super-PAC contributions and devised a penalty system to enforce their agreement. A candidate who benefits from a third-party advertisement must pay a penalty, which goes to a charity chosen by the other candidate.
If King and Dill get together on an anti-super-PAC proposal, King would have to overlook Dill’s additional proposal for a limit on personal financing (a reference to King’s own wealth) and her sly dig about King’s past vote for President George W. Bush. She stretched a bit in blaming King for the Citizens United decision, since Bush appointed Justices Alito and Roberts, who held for it.
But that’s politics for you.
Charlie has rejected it, what a surprise. (not) The only way he could possibly win would be to have a large bag full of money from one of the Super Pac’s spreading lies about his opponents. Hopefully people will realize he is nothing but a puppet for Grover Norquist, ALEC and the right wing nuts and will do nothing for the State of Maine people. The only way this country will get back on a proper fiscal policy is through cuts and revenue, the Norquist pledge negates the need for revenue.
Repeat after me!
Charlie the Lockstep Monster!
Of course Summers has rejected it. The guy who screeches about fraud has no problem accepting literally hundreds of thousands from anonymous donors that Mainers will never know of. How does that deal with the issues? It doesn’t. He points his fingers at others, people who don’t have the same loud voice as him, to distract from the fact that he’s the fraud.
What a dishonor it would be for him to represent our state — symbolically only of course, we all know he wouldn’t be representing our interests once if he ever gets to DC. He’ll be much more interested in pleasing all his anonymous donors.
When Democrats outspend Republicans its about fair and open elections and “the people” but when Republicans outspend Democrats it is all those “anonymous donors”.
That has nothing to do with my comment and I’ve never made any statements of the like. If you have an issue with someone else, another party or want to fantasize that those you disagree with have all these awful intentions take it elsewhere.
You were the one that brought up “anonymous donors”.
LOL…some people struggle with reading comprehension…but not usually when they’re the person that wrote the content. Wow.
A phrase I used was used as a spring-board into an unrelated tangent and I’m the one struggling with reading comprehension? That’s dishonest.
You need to come up with a better argument because the personal attacks aren’t cutting it.
Poster only wanted to discuss Charlie Summers PACS and not the fact that the Democrats are abandoning one of their own that would love to have money from “anonymous donors”. Of course pointing that out is an “unrelated tangent”.
No, you tried to force an opinion on me that I don’t hold. You lied in order to prove your non-point. If you want to go on a tangent, fine, but there is no need to reply to me when your disdain is vague and general.
And further, your screeching has nothing to do with reality. I’ve never applaud PAC spending on liberal candidates. I’ve never seen much applause in general from liberals on PAC spending for their candidates. The standard liberal response seems to be loathing in regards to Citizens United. So once again, you’re being dishonest in trying to prove your non-point. I’m coming to see that along with personal attacks, this is all typical for you.
I thought you were objecting to tangents.
Exactly, no real argument. No truth, just personal attacks.
Sort of like the other day when you were forcing an opinion on me that I don’t hold. How’s it feel?
Charlie Summers is already signed on to the super pac money trough. He can have a campaign chest of $100.00 and not run one add on TV. Walk around like a saint. In the mean time the super pacs have been given license to run as many adds as they wish with no attachment directly to Charlie Summers or anyone else. They don’t answer to Chalie Summers, Angus King or Cynthia Dill. They are, according to the USSC individual people who can use their freedom of speech to say anything they want in paid adds without one shread of proof to back up their assertions or proof.
You hit the nail on the head, took the words right out of my mouth. The candidates can say anything they want, super PAC’s will run their adds. Dill will agree to Angus’s call for no Super PAC’s, because she is just cannon Fodder for the Dem’s, they had to have someone, Angus is a Dem in with and I in front of his name so he will use that. Summers is going to be accused of not signing on when the Adds run. Dill is totally out of touch with Maine, Angus is going backwards for the sate of Maine, we have been there done this. Summers although not perfect is the underdog.
I suspect the national GOP thinks this election is too important to be left to the voters, and they’ve told Summers this. Both parties do this, of course.
Dill is a self serving person. She knows that PAC money is not going her way from the big Democratic PACS so all of a sudden its all about “protect(ing) the democratic process”. PPPfffttt!!!
Yes, you’re right. She realized this now and so she found a time machine and went back in time and convinced Angus King to issue this challenge. God, she’s crafty.
The point was,of course, had the Democratic PACS decided to send her money she would never have considered this deal with King. The fact that the national Democrats have thrown her to the wolves makes this deal necessary.
Actually the USSC is the group that threw the US citizens under the bus. They are the ones who gave free reign to Corporations and Unions to run their own campaigns with NO onus for thruth or culpability. It doesn’t matter what party or non party is running.
Maybe, but it is what it is. Money was all ok when Democrats stacked the game so they could outspend Republicans and they generally did. It’s not so easy anymore so there is all sorts of false outrage.
The Wisconsin recall is a case in point. I read numerous articles and saw TV (MSNBC) resports that blamed the fact the Republicans out spent Democrats because of Citizens United decision. Funny thing is that the Wisconsin recall election operated under state election laws and not national election laws which the CU decision impacts. CU has no impact on state election laws.
As for an onus of truth, when in your life have you ever seen a politician operate using with the “truth”? If you have, whose truth?
Is there a state law preventing corporations or unions from running ad campaigns on issues or candidates? Corporations and Unions have no obligation to be factual or truthful if they run their own seperate ad campaigns. The politician at least has to answer for the content of ‘Their’ campaign ads. Thus the little blurb on the end of the ads, ‘I’m Joe Blow’ and I approve this message. The superpac and union ads don’t even have to disclose who their contributors are. The corporate ads bother me in that they are open to foreign influence with no money limit.
I don’t know what the answer is to your first question but state elections are governed by state law.
Foreign contributors have always been a problem even before the CU decision. Do you recall the scandal under Clinton where, if memory serves, a number of Chinese contributors (but interestingly enough not the campaigns) were arrested? 1996 I think.
Politicians have no compulsion to be honest in their ads either.
Talk about potential.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77744.html
I do think she’s backed in a large way by Roxanne Quimby. A vote for Dill is a vote to turn northern Maine into a park ! Please support anyone else.
That will be easy. This person has no idea what its like to be from Maine.
Is there a super pac for Independents
There is if the independent has signed on the dotted line to the right people.
Does this mean that Angus is going to give the $28K back that he got from the Super PAC, IcPurple?
Hypocrisy, thy name is Angus King…
There should be a law that for every dollar donated to these packs there should be another dollar donated to pay down the defecit!
Kind of like Obama, the foodstamp president. How would his donor list look:
Ayers-Convicted Terrorist
Wright- Hates America
Muslim Brotherhood-Wants to wipe Isreal off the map
Soros-embraces socialism, spends millions under the table to try to crash capitalism
Too bad Glenn Beck would not do some research for you in terms of republicans. Then maybe you would see your side is no dam better. If you were objective with the same information you would see your side is the problem and you are being used by your political party often through your church for your vote.
You have an inside scoop of Romney fraternizing with domestic terrorists? You have first-hand knowledge that Romney’s long-time pastor is an America-hating, racist Anti-Semite? You are aware of Romney’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood? And last I checked the eeeeeevil Koch brothers were supportive of capitalism.
Please share your inside track with the rest of us once you have adjusted the antenna on your tinfoil hat. Thank you.
It is called the First Amendment for a reason, folks – it is that important. Be very careful when messing with it.
King and Dill are attempting to disarm a very well qualified candidate before the race has hardly begun, and the media has their full support.
It is an established fact that political advertising does a better job of informing the public about candidates’ backgrounds and postions than the lamestream media. King, Dill, and the BDN are merely trying to marginalize their competition. Don’t let them fool you for one second, Mainers.
Summer, Romney, Super Pacs….All one and the same. Until Washington understands that the economy is not failing because of health care in itself, because of Welfare programs in itself, or because of the middle class that they are leaning so heavily upon, we are doomed to get far worse than we are now. Our economy is failing because of CORPORATE GREED. When BP can go through the huge spill they did and still rake in monster profits, when the price of oil goes down but the profits of the oil companies are still at huge highs, and when coffee growers have millions of excess coffee beans but arent sure if they are going to lower prices or take it as profit, we see clearly how the corporations are profiting. I am so tired of hearing how businesses are raking in profits while average american families are struggling to put food on the table or pay for medications. You can call it the “Occupy” movement if you would like, though that is only a cop out on most Republican’s backs, i call it plain and good ole fashioned humanity and i dont see a whole lot of that in life any more. It certainly makes ya wanna move out deep in the woods somewhere and try your luck living off the land. It cant be any worse than dealing with the sharks and wolves in the business world.
Uncle Angus says ” I don’t need that PAC money I got plenty of my own and I’m running against the little people.”
The only thing sincere about Angus is what’s good for Angus.